Machines speak, AXOOM translates:TRUMPF

By Niraj M Wanikar, Chief Editor, CNCTimes.com, 2017-05-04 12:56:00

New product AXOOM IoT for vertical interconnectivity, from the sensor to the cloud, Live production world with lasers and measuring machines from TRUMPF and ZEISS at the trade show booth, Partnership with EnBW

Everyone's talking about AXOOM”. And not only that: the Karlsruhe-based company founded by the mechanical engineering company TRUMPF is even “getting machines to ‘talk’” – thanks to differentiated data evaluation. That also applies to this year's Hanover Fair: at its approximately 170-square-meter booth (hall 8, booth F14), AXOOM is presenting a live production world of machines, measuring devices, smart glasses, and other elements, all of them connected over AXOOM. The devices and equipment, manufactured by companies including ZEISS, TRUMPF and FELSS, deliver their digital data to a huge screen, guaranteeing transparency. Solutions from the new AXOOM IoT product group will be demonstrated as well as offers from partners such as XETICS LEAN.

With AXOOM IoT, the platform provider is expanding its product spectrum in the machine and component manufacturing sector. Here, the horizontal interconnection of all process steps, from order intake through to delivery (known as AXOOM Smart Enterprise) is further enhanced by vertical interconnection from the sensor through to the cloud. AXOOM IoT provides value-adds in four focus areas: The IoT Management with Connection Center helps machine manufacturers to connect and manage their devices in the field, to improve availability and service. Condition Monitoring monitors the behavior of machines and components and makes their statuses transparent. Remote Services enables remote configurations, software updates and troubleshooting, reducing maintenance effort. Finally, Analytics analyzes data for improvement potential, so that productivity can be further increased.

The possibilities of the AXOOM IoT portfolio are being utilized by companies such as AXOOM's partner ZEISS, the globally active technology group, represented at the AXOOM booth by a connected solution for multi-dimensional measurement technology. The production measuring instrument ZEISS DuraMax in this case measures the precision of sheet-metal parts previously cut on the TRUMPF TruLaser Cell 3000 laser system. The data is displayed directly on an analysis dashboard. In this way, in cooperation with TRUMPF and AXOOM, ZEISS shows how measuring devices can be integrated into higher-level systems – such as production planning or automated quality reports – and thus become part of a Smart Factory.

Fine production planning is the core competency of AXOOM partner XETICS. The XETICS LEAN Manufacturing Execution System (MES), available through AXOOM, continually records all relevant production data and ensures the best possible transparency. With XETICS LEAN, the fine-tuning of production and the interaction between machines, operators and production planning can all be greatly simplified based on lean processes. With the help of additional apps, available from the AXOOM platform, rapid utilization of a large amount of potential for production optimization is enabled.

The AXOOM partner FELSS shows how data analysis can be used to make production more secure. Although, there is no actual FELSS rotary kneading unit at the AXOOM booth due to its sheer size, a video of the machine and the application shows clearly how digital services can help to improve product quality and reduce scrap. During processing of the parts, process parameters such as rotational speeds are recorded and analyzed in the background. These parameters enable the AXOOM-connected system to independently recognize whether the finished part is in perfect condition or whether intervention by the machine operator is necessary. This information appears on the AXOOM monitor in real time, together with various key performance indicators, and will be available to FELSS customers in the future as 'Smart Correction'.

“Smart Energy meets Smart Enterprise” – that's the motto of another new partnership, which AXOOM announced at the start of the Hanover Fair. Together, EnBW AG and AXOOM want to help industrial customers to save energy and costs. The AXOOM data analyses from production not only evaluate throughput times, material usage or machine statuses, but also power consumption peaks. In combination with EnBW's intelligent energy metering systems, this enables monitoring of consumption and optimization of processes. Energy can therefore be automatically taken into account as a factor during sequence planning of production orders. With applications like these, the AXOOM ecosystem is steadily and continuously growing into a comprehensive world of solutions for manufacturing companies.

• Follow @CNCTimes